New single-family home sales jumped 6.5% to a monthly record in July as demand for housing continued to defy gravity and the expectations of a slowdown.The U.S. Census Bureau reported that new-home sales rose from a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.32 million units in June to a record 1.41 million rate in July. New-home sales were already headed for another record year, and the July figures, which outpace July 2004 sales by 17%, will force economists to revise their estimates upward. The Census Bureau report also shows that the inventory of unsold new homes edged down to a four-month supply. Sales jumped 36% in the West in July and 10.1% in the Northeast. Sales fell 13.5% in the Midwest and 3.5% in the South.
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